Page 59 - Security Today, July/August 2018
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Dealer Strategies
conditions that exist before a device fails— for example, low memory availability, which could easily be remediated if you just knew about it. With basic system health monitor- ing, you’ll get an alert about some issues, but figuring out what’s really happening and what to do about it is up to you. That’s a headache just waiting to kick in.
DEALING WITH IT SQUABBLES
Your CIO and the rest of the IT department feel a lot of ownership over the network that runs both the business and your security systems. The reality is that IP-based security does take up bandwidth, ports and IP ad- dresses that other systems could be using.
If a security device is malfunctioning, it could be taking up more bandwidth than planned—and that can negatively affect the rest of the network. (It also doesn’t help if a security tech works on a server and leaves a big mess behind in the closet. You’ll definite- ly hear about that one.)
DATA THE CEO WANTS TO SEE
Security is a business expense that does not generate revenue. Accordingly, the C-level suite wants periodic performance reviews and assurances that their investment in secu- rity is truly worth it. If you want to invest in any new devices or upgrades, they’ll expect you to make a strong, numbers-driven busi- ness case for that expenditure.
For most organizations, however, it’s hard to pull together any meaningful metrics. If you don’t have numbers to demonstrate up- time for every device or response time for security issues, your bosses are not going to be terribly impressed or forthcoming when it comes to additional budget. What’s worse, if your security system is experiencing repeat- ed failures, you’ll probably hear things like, “Why should I give you more money when every time I talk to you, cameras or hard drives are down?” (Not a fun chat.)
COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM HEALTH MONITORING SOLUTION
Security system health monitoring software has done a lot of good for our industry. At Knight Security Systems, our patented Knight- Sentry solution was one of the first offerings to market, but we knew we could do better.
Truly comprehensive system health mon- itoring requires both better software and rap-
id response services. To deliver that for our clients, Knight recently launched KnightSen- try 2.0 adding even more alerts and notifica- tions, a graphical dashboard interface, and robust reporting features. It’s all backed by SecurePlan Service Suite, a full range of Ser- vice Level Agreements (SLAs) to meet any coverage need.
Here’s how to save the day, any day.
Detecting system health issues before they become problems. You can monitors more conditions than ever before and the graphical Dashboard makes it easy to see when things like bandwidth, data through- put, remaining battery run time and memory availability are abnormal—on every single device. Think of it as the “check engine” light for your entire security system.
Accelerating remediation when prob- lems do occur. Diagnostics are much easier and more accurate when alerts are highly de- tailed and specific, and you have contextual information about the normal state of the system. And with a SecurePlan SLA in place, Knight’s expert security techs ensure rapid resolution—often before you’re even aware there was an issue.
Keeping IT happy. The software has built-in machine learning, so it “knows” what a normal environment is for bandwidth
by date and time, by camera and by switch. The graphical dashboard and alerting make sure that abnormal states are corrected be- fore they can impact the network.
Demonstrating performance and meet- ing regulatory requirements. You can pull almost any report at any time (they can also be automated). That means you’ve got share- able documentation of system health, uptime performance, issues, and resolution over time—with a wide range of data windows to meet budgeting and forecasting needs, per- formance report requirements, and audit/ compliance mandates. So, for example, you can easily demonstrate that one camera was out for half an hour on a certain date, but the system is typically fully operational 99.9 per- cent of the time. That’s huge.
Here is the bottom line: As security direc- tor, it’s your job to know your system inside and out, and make sure things are operation- al to keep your organization safe. A compre- hensive system health monitoring solution will give you that visibility and documenta- tion, with expert techs on the job to monitor and provide rapid resolution 24/7. That’s sure to make your day.
Phil Lake is the president and CEO of Knight Security Systems.
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